Happy Hour Details:
Monday-Saturday 5:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m.
$5.00 Sommelier’s Pick of the Cellar wine by the glass
$5.00 III Forks Martinis
$2.00 off mixed drinks

Try the restaurant’s amazing low calorie cocktails called slim sips.
Bourbon Blossom-156 Calories
Strawberry Seduction-133 Calories
Cucumber Collins-126 Calories

You may think that getting healthy and staying in shape is difficult, but trust me – It’s all about the GOAL. If you don’t set goals in life, it’s very difficult to accomplish anything at all. Whether they are financial, health, spiritual or any other personal goals, start by writing them down.

Take your goals to T-A-S-K.

T-A-S-K is a simple acronym that will help you define and create accountability for your goals.

T – is for ‘time oriented’. Any goal without a time frame for achievement will always be pursued. I mean always, like forever and ever. Treat your personal goals like it is your job to get them done. Every job has deadlines, and the job of personal goal setting is no different. Your success and ‘promotion’ only happen when you stick to the schedule and get task accomplished!

A – is for ‘achievable’. You are doomed before you start if your goals are too lofty. You know your body, finances and psyche better than anyone, so setting a realistic goal for you should be the easy part. Of course, consideration must be paid to your goals being A – chievable within the T – ime you set up for them.

S – is for ‘specific’. In my experience as a professional fitness coach, a weight loss or strength gain goal means nothing if it not specific – I mean down to the number specific. Now is the time of year a lot of people are saying ‘I need to lose weight’ or ‘I need to tone’. These are terrible goals and probably why 60% have already given up. Think specific! How much weight do you need to lose? How many inches do you need to shed, and where?

K – is for ‘keep a journal.’ As I mentioned previously, write all of your goals down, circle the 2 or three most important, create guidelines for attacking them and go for it! Keeping a journal of progress is a fitness secret that only the most successful goal achievers do well. After deciding on your most important objectives, create your plan of action and write it down. For your health goals, record a daily log of your eating and workout routines. Look over it and critique it often. You will be amazed at how this little gem of accountability pays off in the form of success!

Any goal worth achieving does come with a price. Know the price you will need to pay. Be willing to pay that price. Acknowledge at the outset of your goal setting that you must be willing to put in the hard work necessary to achieve your goals, and actually PAY the price. This is where most goals and dreams fall flat. You need to actually do what it takes to realize your goals. You can’t just daydream your way to them.

If you really set your mind to it – if you truly decide that 2012 is the year that nothing will stop you – you can achieve just about anything!! Just take your goals to T-A-S-K!

Editor’s Note Wes Greer is owner of Fitness Together Jacksonville. Originally from Coffee County, Ga., Wes earned his B.S. in Engineering from Auburn University and worked as a Manufacturing Process Engineer until he decided to return to school. He then attended the University of South Carolina and Vienna School of Economics in Vienna Austria, where he earned an International M.B.A. Wes is a former NCAA athlete and has 15 years of experience as a personal trainer and fitness coach. Through his engineering, management and business experience, Wes has developed a keen understanding of people and how to motivate them. This plays a huge role in how he approaches his business and clients. Wes realizes how success becomes so much easier when you have someone in your corner.

We have known Shane for several months and when we learned that at age 18 he would leave his “group home” and be placed in an apartment, we offered him another option.

So today is the first day in a new school for our newest family member. On Sunday Shane turned 18 and while in the eyes of the world he is considered an adult, he is also a high school kid who needs a home. Three years ago our youngest daughter left for college, and two weeks ago our 23-year-old left for Uganda, so Shane is actually doing us a favor by filling our home again.

We consider him our sixth child, and, yes, he has his real family and of course we respect that relationship. But we also can’t have someone live with us without bonding with him as family. We may not have legally adopted Shane, but in our hearts we have.

I am as giddy as a new mom in some ways – wondering if I will be a good mom to my new child. I am so excited to see him continue to grow his wings and become a happy and successful adult, and I am thankful that God has given us another opportunity to be parents.

Welcome Shane!

Seminar Details:
Date: Thursday, February 23, 2012
Time: Check in is 5:00 p.m. and the seminar runs from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Location: St. Vincent’s Medical Center Southside (formerly St. Luke’s Hospital) Roger Main Building, 4201 Belfort Rd. Ste. 370, Jax, FL 32216
Presenters: Dr. Jason Thompson and Dr. Lee Epstein of Florida Urogynecology will present the seminar and will provide the insight and answers you’ve been looking for.
Light appetizers and refreshments will be served.
Please RSVP by calling 1-800-466-5595.

Janice Torbett had her valve repaired because it wasn’t working properly. “I had symptoms of shoulder pain, back pain and some chest pain but it was never severe,” says Torbett. “Exertion seemed to trigger it more than anything and that was because the valve wasn’t letting the blood go through. I would come home so tired that I would need to nap before dinner. Even cleaning the house was too hard.”

Torbett, who owns a Christian dance studio, and has taught dance locally for more than 30 years, says that the decision hung over her head until she heard about a new procedure by a new doctor in town – Dr. Jayasankar. “I feel fortunate to have had this procedure and Dr. Jayasankar. He was helpful and friendly and made the worst part not so bad,” she says. Torbett now goes to physical therapy where she does the treadmill, the bike and lifts weights. She is up to 3.1 miles per hour on the treadmill and she also has attended the nutrition class. “It helps me to be accountable and that is good for me,” she says.

Now Janice is back in her dancing shoes, and she doesn’t get tired when she dances with the young dancers at her studio.

Click our virtual edition to learn about Memorial Hospital’s heart center.

The March to Get Screened 5K will be on Sunday, March 4, 2012. The race starts at 1 p.m. at Fionn MacCool’s in Jacksonville Beach. Registration begins at 12 noon. The race is on the beach. It begins and ends at Fionn MacCool’s and loops around at North Street in Neptune Beach. The race is free for all participants but donations to the BGC Foundation for Research and Education are greatly appreciated.

The funds raised last year resulted in 27 free colonoscopies at a cost of $72,358, which was funded by the BGC Foundation for Research and Education. Those colonoscopies, performed by Borland-Groover Clinic, resulted in the location, identification and removal of several precancerous polyps from the patients screened.

Other sponsors for the event include Fionn MacCool’s, Beson4 Media Group, Earth Systems, Olympus and OneSource.

Mark your calendars for the March to Get Screened, March 4 at 1 p.m. Come out for a great cause.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Seminar Details:
Date: Thursday, February 23, 2012
Time: Check in is 5:00 p.m. and the seminar runs from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Location: St. Vincent’s Medical Center Southside (formerly St. Luke’s Hospital) Roger Main Building, 4201 Belfort Rd. Ste. 370, Jax, FL 32216
Presenters: Dr. Jason Thompson and Dr. Lee Epstein of Florida Urogynecology will present the seminar and will provide the insight and answers you’ve been looking for.
Light appetizers and refreshments will be served.
Please RSVP by calling 1-800-466-5595.

Who: American Heart Association-First Coast Market Professionals Board, Beson4 Media Group and Aetna are hosting the inaugural “Pulse” Party. Pulse is chaired by AJ Beson, President/CEO, Beson4 Media Group and Stephanie Autry, Senior Marketing Consultant, Beson4 Media Group.

What: Pulse is a party with a purpose to raise funds and awareness for children’s heart health issues including the devastating effects of cardiovascular disease, stroke and childhood obesity. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.heart.org/firstcoastheartball and click on the Pulse tab or by calling 904- 256-5731.

When: Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.

Where: SUITE – St. John’s Town Center, 4880 Big Island Drive, Jacksonville

Why: Pulse is a young professionals board dedicated to making it so that Jacksonville’s children do not fight the same heart related health battles the board’s parents and grandparents struggle against today. Pulse is about prevention and calls all young professionals to gather friends and coworkers to educate and inspire them to change the health of generations to come. As the board has developed, its focus has narrowed to assisting the children by supporting fitness and nutrition programs geared towards our youngest generations. With your help, we can combat childhood obesity by teaching our children the importance of heart health.
• One in three children or teenagers is overweight or obese,
• 33.1 % of Florida’s youth are overweight,
• overweight and obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 17.0% in 2006.